The following Tuesday, the lot of us had been chilling in the cafeteria during lunchtime when Malcolm suddenly perked up.
"Hey, do you guys wanna go to the movies after school and watch that new horror movie?" he asked in excitement. "Everyone's been talking about it. I heard it's really good."
"I don't do scary movies," Chelsea rejected the idea, scrunching her nose.
"Me neither," I murmured, slightly shivering at the thought of blood and violence, "besides, I'm busy."
"With what?" asked Malcolm, blue eyes twinkling in curiosity.
"Cheerleading tryouts."
"Oh, I forgot those were happening today! Good thinking, little sis. We can watch the girls who are trying out and scout for some hotties."
"Of course that's the first thing that comes to your mind," Andre sighed.
"No girl in their right mind would wanna get with you," Elias added with a snort.
"Agreed," I said.
Of course, it wasn't true. Many girls thought Malcolm was fairly good-looking, and he had acquired a bit of a reputation as a player. Nonetheless, I wasn't going to help inflate his already gigantic ego.
"Hey!" Malcolm pouted at me. "Why are you taking their side?"
"Sorry, but it's my duty as your little sis to humble you," I grinned. "Anyways, I'm not going to the cheerleading tryouts just to watch."
At this, the boys appeared confused. Meanwhile, Chelsea suppressed a smile.
"What are you going for, then?" Elias furrowed his eyebrows.
"I'm trying out," I casually replied.
Malcolm spat out his water in pure shock, and it splattered all over Elias' face.
Clenching his jaw, Elias slowly wiped his face and cast Malcolm a deadly glare. I nearly peed my pants at the look on his face even though I wasn't on the receiving end of it.
"You've got three seconds," Elias threatened through gritted teeth. "Three, two—"
Malcolm didn't need to be told twice. Screaming at the pitch of a little girl, he jumped up and scurried out of the cafeteria, practically tripping over his own feet.
"How long do you think he's gonna run until he realizes Elias isn't actually going after him?" Chelsea asked in amusement.
"Depends. Last time he made it to the border of Canada," Andre mused. "Anyways, let me get this straight—you're trying out for the cheerleading team?"
"Yup," I said.
"But, why?" He was at a loss for words, struggling to understand why I'd do such a thing.
"Why not?" Chelsea came to my defence.
"I don't know, it just... it doesn't seem like her type of thing. No offence, Flower, but you're kind of a nerd." he grimaced.
"Wha—Says you!" I exclaimed. "Back me up, Ellie."
To my dismay, Elias had amusement written all over his face. "Sorry, D, but you're not exactly the greatest when it comes to athletics."
"Hey, that's not true."
"You were the first one out in dodgeball yesterday."
"You were the one that got me out, jerk!"
"True," he mused, "it was kind of funny to watch that ball hit your face."
I scowled. He grinned.
"Just you wait," I narrowed my eyes. "You'll regret doubting me."
"Wanna bet?" Elias snorted.
"Yes, actually," I obliged, "five bucks?"
He tsked. "Ah ah ah. That's a little boring. How about, if you don't make the team, you have to babysit the twins for me for an entire month."
"Sure," I said with quickness. After all, I loved his little siblings. "But, wait! You didn't say what happens if I do make the team."
His eyes glinted. "Well, simple. If you do make the team, I owe you something."
"You'll owe me what, exactly?"
"Anything."
"Really?" I questioned in interest. "Hmm. So if I were to tell you to shave your head, you'd do it?"
"Of course," he nodded with ease. "But that's only if you do make the team. Which, you won't. Anyways, do we have a deal or not?"
"Deal."
We firmly shook hands. His large, veiny hand completely engulfed my much smaller one.
"Prepare to eat shit, Ellie," I sweetly smiled, before swinging my bag over my shoulder.
"Whatever. Where are you going?"
"Careful, there," I raised my eyebrows. "It almost sounds like you care."
"Of course not," he sneered, "I'm just glad you're finally leaving so I can breathe without the scent of vanilla perfume suffocating my lungs."
I laughed. "You know you love it."
"We do," Andre said.
Elias and I tore our eyes away from each other to look at Andre.
"I mean, I'd much rather that than the smell of Malcolm's BO," Andre straightened up almost nervously.
I chuckled and glanced at Elias, waiting to see his infamous smirk. However, his face was tense as he glared at Andre. Confusion overtook me. Had I missed something?
A part of me figured this was just Elias being Elias. Although, something about the look on his face was abnormal. I wasn't sure if it was just the lighting of the cafeteria, or perhaps my mind playing tricks on me, but Elias almost appeared... jealous.
*****
"Next up, Daisy Johnson!"
"Break a leg," Malcolm whispered, anxiously nibbling on his fingernails.
"You idiot," Andre facepalmed.
"What? It means good luck."
"Everyone knows that just brings bad luck," Andre argued.
"Great, now she might literally break a leg!" Chelsea frowned. "Good going, Malcolm."
"Fuck you guys, I was just trying to be nice," Malcolm sulked.
Elias ignored the pointless argument and instead looked at me, slightly inclining his head. His small nod of encouragement was enough to immediately relieve my nerves. Softly releasing a breath, I determinedly tightened my ponytail and began to approach the center of the gymnasium. Meanwhile, students in the bleachers began to speculate amongst one another while analyzing me.
"Why the hell is Crazy Daisy trying out?"
"There's no way she's making the team."
"She's way too smart to be a cheerleader. Everyone knows they're all airheads."
"I bet she can't even do a flip."
Several whispers, both good and bad, circulated as I calmly made my way towards the floor. The bleachers were packed, as the cheerleading team was quite a big deal here at Oakland High, and everyone wanted to see who the next big it girl was gonna be.
"Oh, I can't watch," Malcolm dramatically covered his eyes.
"Me neither," Andre muttered, looking uneasy.
"You got this!" Chelsea beamed, casting me two thumbs up.
Elias remained silent, his face unreadable. I bet he thought I was going to make a complete fool of myself. I couldn't wait to prove him wrong.
Unzipping my sweater, I straightened my posture and faced the three people who were going to be judging me. The first was Coach Sharma, who appeared very bored after having to watch tons of untalented people try out for the team. The second was the captain of the cheerleading team, Heather. Her arms were crossed and she looked like she was going to explode in excitement, as if she couldn't wait to watch me embarrass myself. The third was the captain's sidekick, Ruby, who appeared quite nervous for me.
None of them looked very reassuring.
"Alright, Johnson, show us what you got," Coach Sharma tiredly droned.
She turned on the music, and I immediately jumped into action. I completed the exact routine I'd gone over a million times over the last few days—the same jumps, the same tumbles, the same stunts. At last, I completed the routine with a clasp of my hands and stood firm on my feet, a confident smile gracing my lips.
At first, I was met with pure and utter silence as each spectator stared at me in shock.
Suddenly, the crowd went wild. Everyone rose to their feet and roared at my outstanding performance.
"Tryouts are over!" Coach yelled in delight. "Johnson, you're on the team!"
"Oh my goodness, that was amazing!" Ruby threw her clipboard as she excitedly clapped for me. However, a sharp glare from Heather caused her to immediately stop.
"What? Coach, we should at least talk about this!" Heather screeched, her face turning red in anger.
"No need. Her elegance, her determination... looks like someone's gonna give you a run for your money, Addams," Coach Sharma beamed, before rushing over to me. "Welcome to the team, dear! Are you sure you've never done cheerleading before? That was the best performance I've seen in years!"
I was overjoyed by her feedback, though was distracted once I caught sight of Elias making his way over from the bleachers. Before I could stop myself, I giddily rushed over and launched him into a hug.
He froze in surprise at our contact. Embarrassed, I pulled away from him.
"Sorry, got carried away," I bashfully shook my head. "Anyways, did you hear, Ellie? I made the team!"
A lazy smirk coating his features, Elias swung an arm around my shoulder anyway and lowly murmured, "I knew you could do it."
I pulled away from him. "What? But before you said—"
"I know what I said," he shoved his hands into his pockets. "But, I was just pulling your leg. I knew if it seemed like I didn't believe in you, you'd do your best to prove me wrong."
My mouth was agape. "No way! I can't believe you used reverse psychology on me, you jerk."
"It worked, didn't it?" he shamelessly grinned.
I stomped on his foot, causing his smile to only widen. "I hope you know this doesn't mean you're out of the bet. You still owe me something."
"Of course, D, a deal's a deal," he nodded with quickness, "What exactly would you like me to do for you?"
His dark brown eyes bored into mine, and a bit of an amused smirk was dancing across his lips. Despite the noise and commotion of the cluttered gymnasium, it felt as though the pair of us were lost in our own little bubble, excitedly clinging onto each other's quick remarks.
What exactly would you like me to do for you? It felt as though there was a deeper meaning behind his words, and I felt my cheeks to heat up. Luckily, I was saved from replying when I was suddenly swarmed by the others.
"Oh my gosh, Daisy!" Chelsea squealed, jumping up and down.
"What the fudge, you were amazing! Way to make your big brother proud," Malcolm fake-weeped into my shoulder.
Andre appeared starstruck. "It looks like I was completely wrong about you. How are you so talented?"
"I'm not. It's really all thanks to Chelsea. She's spent the last few days training me," I beamed.
"Give yourself some more credit, would you?" Chelsea laughed. "I may have been the coach, but you, my friend, were the executioner."
"Oh, stop it," I giggled, not too good at handling compliments.
A group of freshmen passing by congratulated me on making the team, and asked how long I'd been cheerleading for. As I politely conversed with them, I couldn't help but glance up for a moment.
Elias had slightly distanced himself from the scene. He leisurely leaned against the side of the bleachers with his arms crossed, watching as I basked in all the newfound attention I was receiving. I don't think he even realized that he was smiling as he looked at me. I found myself slightly stuttering as I spoke to the other students, and they all followed my line of sight towards Elias.
"Wow, I wish I had a boyfriend that looked at me like that," one of the freshman girls dreamily whispered.
Stunned, I blinked and directed my attention back to the freshmen. "W-What? Oh, we're just... friends?"
Even I cringed at how unconvincing I sounded. The freshmen exchanged knowing looks and giggled before scurrying away.
I shook my head and looked back up to where Elias had been standing. A cold feeling of disappointment washed over me as I realized that he was gone.
"For someone who just made the cheerleading team, you look awfully sad," Malcolm grinned, slinging an arm around my shoulder. "What's wrong, little sis?"
"Oh, nothing," I said. Trying to sound as inconspicuous as possible, I inspected my nails and casually asked Malcolm, "do you know where Elias went?"
Malcolm looked caught off guard by the question at first. I immediately regretted asking anything when a large, Cheshire grin suddenly made its way onto his features. "Depends... why are you asking?"
"I was just curious, but if you're gonna be like that, never mind," I snapped, before grimacing. "Woah, that came out way ruder than I meant it to."
"It's okay," Malcolm widely grinned. "Love makes us do crazy things."
"Love?" I cocked my head to the side, officially confused. "What do you mean by that?"
"Oh, Daisy," Malcolm bit his lip in delight, as if he knew something I didn't. "How can someone so smart be so dumb?"
"Hey!" I made a move to kick his shin.
He ran away with a cackle. Meanwhile, Andre and Chelsea caught up to us.
"What do you guys say we grab some celebratory milkshakes?" Chelsea asked.
"Bet," Malcolm agreed, "drinks on Andre!"
"Yeah!" Andre smiled, before his face dropped. "Wait—"
I smiled. It sounded perfect. A sweet treat to end off the sweet day. Although, I couldn't help but feeling like something—or rather, someone—was missing...
*****
QOTD: tv shows or movies?
AOTD: tv shows
Hey guys! A bit of a life update since the last chapter:
Good news, I passed my driving test, thank God! Bad news, my date with the guy got postponed. Also, the argument with my friend has turned into full on beef, it's literally insane. Regardless, high school is over soon so I couldn't care less!
Hope you guys are enjoying the Easter weekend! I will try my best to update again in a few days!
Love, Emmanuela
04/07/2023